Winterkist {Gift Basket}

Welcome to the Winterkist Blog Hop!  I have to admit, I puzzled about what to make with my fabrics far longer than I should have, but eventually settled on a gift basket!

I used the large basket from my Bedside Trio, since it is very generously sized {I also filled it with some of my favorite things!}, and then appliqued a Gnoma Claus on the front.  For the binding I used Kona Coal...appropriate, don't you think?!

In actuality, I think I might send this basket to my sister.  You see, my family is short, you probably cannot tell from photos, but I am only 5'2", and that's on a good day!  My sister, Rachel, didn't even reach the 5-feet-tall mark...and at 4' 11", she's the shortest one in our family.  Why am I telling you this?  Well, we happen to have a long running family joke that she is actually a garden gnome.  In fact, her first Christmas away from home, we gave her this {and it has moved with her for the past 7 years!}:

So, it only seems fitting that she also receive the Gnoma Claus basket!  Especially since, while it is wintery fabric, the colors allow it to be easily used year round.

Are you dreaming of getting your hands on a little Winterkist now {see here and here for more inspiration!}? Perfect!  Every weekday for the next three weeks follow the hop and comment on the participating blogs for your chance to win big! Each Friday evening, Katie will draw a name from the comments on all 5 of that week's blog hop posts. The winner gets their choice of fat quarter bundles from the very generous Fat Quarter Shop!

You could even choose a Winterkist bundle!

Here's the schedule of the hop for continued Winterkist inspiration:

Aug 6  Katie at There & Back
Aug 7  Rachael at imagine gnats
Aug 8  Jennie at Clover & Violet <--You are here!
Aug 9  Courtney at mon petit lyons
Aug 10  Sara at Sew Sweetness

Aug 13  Bianca at Sweet Diesel Designs
Aug 14 Chelsea at Pins & Bobbins
Aug 15  Rebecca at Sew Festive Handmade
Aug 16  Diane at from blank pages
Aug 17  Allegory at {sew} Allegorical

Aug 20  Kim at My Go-Go Life
Aug 21 Di at Random Thoughts...do or "di"
Aug 22 Jennifer at Ellison Lane Quilts
Aug 23 Jenelle at Echinops & Aster
Aug 24  Katie at There & Back

Happy Easter!

I have a couple other cute Easter things to show you later, but am enjoying the day with these two cuties so it will have to wait!  Hope you're having a lovely day!

2 Already

As I say way too often {along with most other parents, I imagine}, time flies so quickly.  Where have the last two years gone?  It seems like only yesterday this little boy was just a baby...

...and now he's 2-years-old.  He's reading, singing, and talking up a storm {I still have to translate most of the words, but he's sure trying!}.

He really enjoyed his birthday cake this year too...he got a huge piece...

...and finished it.  I didn't actually think he'd eat the entire piece, but he proved me wrong.  The last two years have been amazing, crazy, and beautiful.  I am looking forward to so many more!

Balance

I'm itching to sew...yet I seem to find myself sitting on the couch, watching Curious George or Mickey Mouse Clubhouse most of the time {or walking and bouncing a hiccup-y baby!}.  So, today I got out the book my mom gave me for Mother's Day {last year!} and started a little project.  The book is Handmade Beginnings by Anna Maria Horner and it's filled with pretty patterns.  My sister gave me several pairs of baby shoes and booties for Silas...but I wanted a warm, girly pair for Norah, so I started cutting these out:

Fabric: Meadow Dot by Sandi Henderson, Bliss by Bonnie & Camille, and Hello Betty! by Chloe's Closet

It may take a week {or more!} to get them finished, but it sure feels good to get some fabric cut up!

Also, I wanted to thank everyone for your responses to my last post, I'm only a few blogs into my reading, but I'm realizing that we have some amazing readers!  I'm looking forward to getting to know you better {I will read through every blog...it is just taking a while because I don't want to just drop by and comment without checking things out thoroughly!}.

Please share your secrets: How do you find time to sew?

From all 4 of us...

Merry Christmas!  We're having a wonderful Christmas this year as a family of four {here's our first family together with the little girl}.  It's been wonderful to see Silas enjoy all sorts of Christmas-y things that he was a bit young for last year, and of course cuddling darling Norah is a gift in itself.  I hope everyone is having a wonderful Christmas as well!

Home again and starting a fun new project!

I had so much fun spending time with Jennie. The best part was getting reacquainted with Silas and meeting little baby Norah. They are so precious and it was pure joy. I can look back with such warm memories of time spent holding both of them. There is nothing like a new baby, she is so adorable!

The first week we shopped, got last minute things ready for the new baby, and dreamed of things we would still like to make for our shop. So many ideas and it seems like so little time. I think sometimes it's easy to get caught up in wanting to do more, yet the important things in life like family and especially little one's are always first in our minds and hearts.

Jennie did more sewing than I did. I really was there to hold a newborn baby and play with Silas. Both of which I did plenty of and could never get enough of. Silas is such a character and is able to communicate his wants so clearly. He learned some new words while I was there, purple, was a new one and he loves green, and school daddy and also school bus. By the time I left he was also saying NeNe Norah. Maybe it sounded a little more like No-wah, but we knew what he meant.

So on one of our shopping outings I found this book and decided I would really like to crochet again. It has been a long time but I think it would be fun to learn to crochet roses for baby hats and maybe even the hats. This book has a lot of good patterns I would like to try to make.

I just want to say thank you for reading our blog, we really enjoy reading your comments and going through this journey with you. I am so proud of my daughter Jennie she truly is a wonderful young woman.

Welcome...

It's about time to have an official picture of our newest addition: baby Norah.  She's cute as can be and getting lots of love from the whole family.  Thanks for all the congratulations and well wishes, we couldn't be more blessed!

P.S. Love her hairband?  You can find them here!

46/52 :: Candid

Taken with a simple point-and-shoot camera, this might be my new favorite photo.  I'm trying my hand at some newborn photos this weekend, but I can't resist some candid, sweet, family shots too.  We're all loving our time together!

45/520:: Eggnog

Even though Silas is almost 2, there are still a lot of firsts in his life {and I suppose there will be for many years to come}.  This is his first taste of eggnog...and, as you can tell by the cute mustashe, he loves it!  I'm looking forward to all the great firsts that will come with this second holiday season!

44/52 :: Reading

As the cooler weather creeps in, lots of days are spent reading around here.  Silas's enjoyment of books amazes me, he will sometimes sit on the couch for half an hour or more, just paging through his books.  It is also helpful that he seems to know the stories well enough to turn the pages for me while I read and stitch at the same time!  Oh, and he's become rather good at posing for the camera too.

As I look for more picture books, any suggestions?  I admit, I am getting a little tired of Curious George, but buying kids books online is so difficult, and we don't seem to have much selection of kids books at the small bookstores here...

43/52 :: Sushi

We love sushi around here, and Silas has been dying to try it.  So, today, we added a California Roll to our order and gave him a few pieces.  He loved it!  What amazes me most, however, is just how much he's grown since this time last year, when he was hardly eating solid food {poor little guy was toothless for a long time, so solids didn't come easy!}.  He looks so much more like a little boy than a baby.  But is as cute as ever, if you ask this biased mama.

42/52 :: Sewing

I hope you're not tired of seeing pictures of this little boy sewing!  While I was frantically making the Ruby market tote last Friday, he was busy sewing up some scraps himself.  Good thing he cannot reach the pedal and the machine at the same time!  Sorry to keep this so short, but I still have a lot of projects to work on, so I may be in and out this week.  Seems to be difficult to blog and actually make stuff too!

What are you sewing and quilting this week?

41/52 :: Hiking

We went on a little hike last Sunday on the way home from church.  We've had mild weather which is perfect for having a little boy and pregnant woman outside!  Silas had an absolute blast running around on the trails, and fortunately, he sticks close by too.  I couldn't get any full face pictures because the sun was bright, and even with sunglasses he looks away {also, hardly anyone wears sunglasses here unless there isn't a cloud in the sky...what's up with that?}.  But I liked his cute little smile!  Hope you have a wonderful weekend!

40/52 :: Coloring

Well, I think it's official...my little boy, who isn't even two yet, has decided naps are no longer necessary. This has made for some very long days in the past few weeks. I still put him in his bedroom for a rest, but it just doesn't provide the same kind of break a nap does.  So, instead, I've been looking for things to occupy him while I try to do things like wash dishes, clean up, oh, and quilt!  His new favorite pastime: coloring!  He draws only on the characters, and loves to ask what colors he's using, and flip through the pages while he colors.

Oh, and if my blogging is slightly less regular, it is because I'm probably coloring too...

39/52 :: Boys

Just a quick picture of my two sweet boys this week.  It's been a rainy week around here, so we haven't had much chance to take good photos!  But, as we were headed out the door I thought it would be nice to snap one of the little guy and his dad, who love spending time together!  We're having a fun extended weekend {in spite of Silas's first ear and eyelid infection.  He's so tough though, I only took him in to the doctor because he had a red spot on his eyelid...}.

P.S. And also, a Happy Thanksgiving to all our Canadian friends!

38/52 :: Curious George

We went out to the wharf today, had lots of fun strolling down the boardwalks, but our trip wouldn't be complete if Silas didn't have one of his many Curious George{also known as "Geesh"} books in hand.  This boy loves Curious George and cannot seem to get enough!  Though, it did cause us to turn back to the house while he cried, "Geesh, Geesh!!" from his car seat.  It is nice that he enjoys reading so much though.

37/52 :: Cute

Just working on getting caught up, I love this darling picture of the little boy while we were out playing with the ball last week.  In case you didn't know, he has amazing eyes!  Oh, and you've got to love the jean jacket too {we're from Washington, I'm pretty sure they're a wardrobe staple there! So, he has to have one!}.

36/52 :: Mickey (and a hair cut)

Although things around here are a little behind, I couldn't skip sharing last week's photo of Silas.  Here he is wearing his new Mickey shirt from Grandma and Opa {this child is obsessed with Mickey Mouse Clubhouse...and we don't even have TV!  I guess watching the dvds on the drive here was enough!}.  He is also sporting a fresh hair cut.  Since he's terrified of the scissors, we decided it was safer just to buzz him {he wasn't a fan of that either, but at least he couldn't get cut by the clipper}.  Oh, and I apologize for the runny nose, after repeated nose blowing, he still had a runny nose in every photo I took!

Hopefully things will get back on track in the next few days!

Not So Bad

I wish I could say more of this has been going on lately...but instead, we've been battling the little things that take up too much time, cause too much stress, and leave you exhausted.  Therefore, blogging has been put on hold for a few days.  But, on the brighter side, my house hasn't been this clean since our belongings were delivered, and our little problems are really not that bad.  At the end of the day, we are blessed with so much.  So, hopefully I'll get my energy back and get to finish up this quilt, which is already quite loved!

35/52 :: Colors

The new word in this little guy's vocabulary is "geen"!  He carries around his colored sorting blocks calling some of them by name: "geen", "lala" (yellow), and "blah" (blue) are the most recognizable.  He's especially in love with "geen" though, and all the trees, grass, and anything else that happens to be that color.  It's amazing how putting the words and colors together as brought a new realization of color to his little mind.  So fun to watch him grow!